Friday's Anstich (gravity pour) keg of Rothenbach Märzen made the game worth the flame, because it was wonderful. Firmly amber in hue, verging on brown, with rich, old-fashioned malt character verging on nutty; the palate was clean, with just a bit of the expected "noble" German hop character, and overall, balanced and poundable.
Very impressive, and the crowd agreed: 40 half-liters were gone at 4:37 p.m., a new record.
Today (Saturday) the last of the week's three Anstich kegs goes on tap around lunchtime at the Public House: Hartmann Märzen. Here are brewery notes from the importer, Dan Shelton:
A small inn and brewpub, founded in 1550, right on the narrow winding highway that runs parallel to the new A70, about 20 kilometers out of Bamberg, Upper Franconia. They make 15,000 hectoliters, all consumed locally, in the Franconian way. They have a wide range. For what it's worth, this is 3 Fonteinen brewer Armand Debelder's favorite place when he visits from Belgium, and its beers are the main inspiration for his Beersel Lager.
Hartmann's web site is in English, and RateBeer offers its usual compendium of information.
On Thursday and Friday, I whetted my appetite for fresh Franconian lager by bicycling to the Public House, but not today. I'll be at Liquor Barn Springhurst from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. to conduct a seminar on "Porters: A History of the Style," followed by a fine cigar and NABC draft beer at Youngstown Cigar Shop at its Holiday Open House: Not two, but five NABC beers on tap at today's Youngstown Cigar Shop open house!
If there's any Anstich remaining after 6:00 p.m., I'll be at the Public House to sample. If you get to it first ... let us know about it!
Showing posts with label Marzen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Marzen. Show all posts
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Friday, December 11, 2009
Today's Anstich keg at the Public House: Rothenbach Märzen.
It proved to be somewhat of a surprise yesterday when Jeremy, our day man at the Public House, leaned over and began pouring a glass of Ahornberger from the Anstich keg.
It had been billed as a Märzen, and described as "malty, hoppy, and dark." One out of three isn't bad; the liquid filling my glass was straw golden in color and not at all overtly hoppy. It was soft and malty, and given the Bavarian habit in recent years to brew ever less colorful Märzens, perhaps still somewhere in that category, albeit tenuously.
However, as good as it tasted -- fresh, perfectly conditioned and perfect for kocking back a few if there'd been time -- it was not what we'd been led to believe. Later in the evening, Matt Dinges of Shelton Brothers confirmed that he'd received a similar comment from another account, and would look into it.
Reading between the lines, it would appear that the Shelton shipments of Anstich kegs are being sourced in the Franconian field, as it were, by Herr Winkler of the Weissenohe brewery. The batch we're pouring now was sent with only numbers on the kegs, a (hopefully) matching list, and brief descriptions of "amber" or "dark." There certainly is room for discrepancies in the system, and I'm sure Shelton will rectify any that appear ... like yesterday's golden dark beer.
Meanwhile, it's another day, and time for the next Anstich: Rothenbach Märzen. Here are the importer Dan Shelton's notes:
Founded in 1886; makes 15,000 hectoliters a year. Yet another family-owned brewpub, a picturesque place in the tiny town of Aufsess, in the Fränkische Schweiz -- the Franconian Switzerland. (There's nothing at all like the Alps here, so the name is a little over-blown.) We've never had the Märzen, which is highly recommended by our Franconian connection at the monastery brewery in Weissenohe.
Here are links to the Rothenbach web site (in German), and RateBeer's compendium of Rothenbach brands.
I'm biking to the Public House now for a quick quality control sample, and will revise this post if new information surfaces.
It had been billed as a Märzen, and described as "malty, hoppy, and dark." One out of three isn't bad; the liquid filling my glass was straw golden in color and not at all overtly hoppy. It was soft and malty, and given the Bavarian habit in recent years to brew ever less colorful Märzens, perhaps still somewhere in that category, albeit tenuously.
However, as good as it tasted -- fresh, perfectly conditioned and perfect for kocking back a few if there'd been time -- it was not what we'd been led to believe. Later in the evening, Matt Dinges of Shelton Brothers confirmed that he'd received a similar comment from another account, and would look into it.
Reading between the lines, it would appear that the Shelton shipments of Anstich kegs are being sourced in the Franconian field, as it were, by Herr Winkler of the Weissenohe brewery. The batch we're pouring now was sent with only numbers on the kegs, a (hopefully) matching list, and brief descriptions of "amber" or "dark." There certainly is room for discrepancies in the system, and I'm sure Shelton will rectify any that appear ... like yesterday's golden dark beer.
Meanwhile, it's another day, and time for the next Anstich: Rothenbach Märzen. Here are the importer Dan Shelton's notes:
Founded in 1886; makes 15,000 hectoliters a year. Yet another family-owned brewpub, a picturesque place in the tiny town of Aufsess, in the Fränkische Schweiz -- the Franconian Switzerland. (There's nothing at all like the Alps here, so the name is a little over-blown.) We've never had the Märzen, which is highly recommended by our Franconian connection at the monastery brewery in Weissenohe.
Here are links to the Rothenbach web site (in German), and RateBeer's compendium of Rothenbach brands.
I'm biking to the Public House now for a quick quality control sample, and will revise this post if new information surfaces.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Today: Franconian Anstich (gravity pour) mania returns to the Public House.
Franconian Anstich (gravity pour) mania returns to the Public House this afternoon with Märzen from Ahornberger. That means 40 half-liter pours and out, at the fair price of $5 each. Märzens from Rothenbach and Hartmann will be tapped tomorrow and Saturday, respectively.
Anstich kegs are back! Six more Franconians are making their way to the Public House.
Yesterday, while at the Cavalier warehouse in Indianapolis, we determined that actually there will be seven gravity-pour Anstich kegs, not six, during the current round. The seventh turns out to be Klosterbrauerei Weissenohe's Christmas lager. There will be time to revise the tapping schedule for next week, but since this week's selections already have been delivered, we'll stick with the Ahornberger today.
Dan Shelton describes it like this:
They do a bunch of seasonal variations on their basic Landbier ('country beer'), including the Märzen, which is described as malty, hoppy, and dark.
Here are links to the Ahornberger Landbrauerei web site (in German), and RateBeer's compendium of Ahornberger brands. I'm headed to the Public House now for a quick quality control sample.
Anstich kegs are back! Six more Franconians are making their way to the Public House.
Yesterday, while at the Cavalier warehouse in Indianapolis, we determined that actually there will be seven gravity-pour Anstich kegs, not six, during the current round. The seventh turns out to be Klosterbrauerei Weissenohe's Christmas lager. There will be time to revise the tapping schedule for next week, but since this week's selections already have been delivered, we'll stick with the Ahornberger today.
Dan Shelton describes it like this:
They do a bunch of seasonal variations on their basic Landbier ('country beer'), including the Märzen, which is described as malty, hoppy, and dark.
Here are links to the Ahornberger Landbrauerei web site (in German), and RateBeer's compendium of Ahornberger brands. I'm headed to the Public House now for a quick quality control sample.
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